The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

In this futuristic, psychological
horror novel, aliens control and victimize members of the human race.

Aresty’s (Recovery, 2013) novel starts off with a bang: in 2120, Leonard Ackerman, a
science officer in a world infiltrated by aliens, is running for his life. In
this scene, the author writes with a delicious urgency, placing readers in the
middle of the action as Ackerman is tracked by a violent humanco-worker:
“He had to get somewhere safe, and then he’d be able to
breathe.” Ackerman’s escape
attempt is short-lived, however, as he quickly becomes trapped in the titular
communication room, a place in which he can call humans in the past and warn
them before they encounter alien-controlled “conscripts” for the first time. The
room is an attempt by Ackerman’s fellow science officersto help mankind
fight against the initial waves of conscripts in the distant past, increasing
humanity’s chances of later survival. Conscripts can appear to be anyone;
they’re humans who came in contact with meteor shards, allowing the aliens to
take over their bodies and make them kill others. Aresty allows readers to gradually
learn the entire history of this extraterrestrial conflict as each
communication unfolds: all of humanity’s greatest atrocities were due to the
efforts of the conscripted, from the Civil War to World War II and beyond. The
author places immense power in the hands of humans who are willing to reach out
to one another, who cling to a small moment of hope and spread it to those
around them. Overall, the book’s most terrifying details are its quietest: dull
thuds of fists on doors, a corpse’s single open eye, the dead air of a call
after a child is killed.

A sci-fi tale that will
stay in readers’ minds as they ponder the value of human connection in times of
crisis.

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